Bonum Certa Men Certa

Antitrust Complaint About Microsoft, a So-called 'Pirate'

Sailor
"Arrrr... show me your genuine Vista"



Those who deserve to be called "pirates" are probably those behaving like ones. The party that's looting and cracking down on businesses seems to be either Microsoft or its BSA equivalents, which do all the legwork and distance Microsoft from any distasteful action. The previous post mentioned the BSA, whose role was also explained and demonstrated using evidence in [1, 2, 3, 4]. The BSA is a front.



Squeezing the Goose



The following incident we wrote about a couple of days ago, but articles at the time were in Dutch. Here are a couple in English:

1. Microsoft faces anti-trust complaint from software trader

Dutch software trader, Samir Abdalla, has filed a broad anti-trust complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, charging that the firm’s pricing policies violate European Union treaties. The trader complains that Microsoft charges European users at least 30% higher prices than paid in the USA.


2. Dealer files antitrust complaint against Microsoft

A Dutch software dealer has filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, arguing that the company's pricing policy in Europe violates antitrust laws.

Company owner Samir Abdalla's complaint is that Microsoft charges at least a third more for its software in Europe than it does in the US. Abdalla's lawyer, Gerard van der Wal of the Houthoff Buruma practice, said his client had begun a legal proceeding "this week" and was seeking clarification from the Commission.


Mr. Abdalla was right about overcharging because an unrestricted copy of Windows Vista cost about $710 in Holland (2007). Mr. Abdalla was probably a victim of Microsoft's latest spree for revenue, which means cracking down and punishing those who spread the software as the company usually preferred. Here is another new incident:

Microsoft wins lawsuit



[...]

The lawsuit accused AllPro of distributing computer systems that were loaded with unauthorized copies of Windows XP Pro and Office 2003 software.


Microsoft needs money now, so it's squeezing the goose.

The Propaganda Model



For Microsoft, it is very important never to publicly admit that counterfeited software is being spread with few hurdles (or none) because the company permits this to happen [1, 2, 3]. Microsoft prefers telling that world that it is a poor victim, an innocent angel. It even passes this type of arrogant message via the media, this time in India.

Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd on Monday announced the availability of the Get Genuine Solution (GGS) for Windows Vista whereby Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) can easily legalize their counterfeit or unlicensed Windows Vista PCs.


Here is an example of propaganda language from the article:

With piracy levels in the Indian market as high as 69 per cent, there is a large number of businesses with existing PCs in need of legalization due to counterfeit, under-licensing, mis-licensing and version piracy scenarios. According to a study on The Economic Benefits of Lowering PC Software Piracy 2008 a ten point reduction in PC software piracy would deliver an additional 44,000 new jobs, 200 million dollars in tax revenues, and 3.1 billion dollars in economic growth in India.


There is no mentioning of Free software; instead, it's just more lies (typically via BSA and/or IDC) about the supposed loss to the economy. Whenever necessary, Microsoft invokes something like "anti-piracy" day and then uses it as an excuse/opportunity to shed some more crocodile tears.

This is what people read in the paper. The writers rarely make an attempt to show that Free (gratis and libre) solutions do exist.

"It's easier for our software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's not."

--Bill Gates



In the Egyptian press, the article "Pirates of the IT World" has just been published. Only the late portion of it contains a refreshing change which is a rebuttal from those who know better.

The term ‘software piracy’ was first brought to life by software companies to connote crime. A more neutral term is ‘copyright infringement of software.’ There is widespread criticism of software companies for using the word ‘pirate’ to describe a user who makes an illegal copy of software, since it implies that the copyright violator is a serious criminal. Much of this criticism comes from advocates for ‘open source’ software, i.e. software that is free to own, distribute and edit.

[...]

Open source is a software development method where every program must have its source code available to developers to modify the program. This contrasts with the ‘closed source’ method of software development. Advocates of proprietary software accuse open source software of being less innovative because developers do not receive monetary rewards for their products and are therefore less motivated to improve their products.

Some advocates of open source software, especially activists and professionals in the software industry, think that software should not be treated like ‘property’ and human knowledge should be shared with the general public so it is available for everyone’s benefit. They also believe that the source code (the instructions, in human-readable code, that allow a program to run) should be ‘open’ for anyone to use, change or improve the software for personal use or redistribution. There is also a general belief that open source software is more secure because anyone can fix security defects that might later be discovered in the code.


The remainder is just BSA accusations, which include extensive use of words like "piracy" and various self-serving claims. That, as a matter of fact, is another example of things that make journalism junk.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

With Workers Back From a Holiday Weekend, Microsoft Layoffs Carry on, More Waves to Come
Now it's Monday and people are bad to work, even some journalists
You Need Not Wave a Rainbow Flag This Month to Basically Oppose Arseholes Looking to Disrupt and Divide the Community
Don't fall for it
What Miguel de Icaza and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
Similar aims, different methods
The 'Corporate Neckbeard' is Not the "Good Guy"
Works for IBM
Microsoft's Nat Friedman Became Unemployed the Same Time the SLAPPs Against Techrights Started Coming From His Friends (Weeks After We Had Exposed Scandals About Him and the Serial Strangler, His Best Friend, Who Got Arrested a Few Days Later)
Nat Friedman is not "Investor, entrepreneur"
Weeding Out Extremism in Our Community
To me it seems like Microsoft Lunduke is rapidly becoming like a "hate preacher" who operates online, breeding an extremist ideology or trying to soften its image
Censorship Versus Fact-Checking and Quality Control
It's not censorship but a matter of quality control
Gemini Links 07/07/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and TUI Rant
Links for the day
 
Layoffs and Shutdowns at IBM, Not Just Microsoft
Same as Microsoft
The FSF's (Free Software Foundation, Inc.) 2025 Summer Fundraiser Already Past Halfway Line
This is where GNU/Linux actually started
Mozilla Had No Good Reason to Outsource Firefox Development to Microsoft
What does Mozilla plan to do when GitHub shuts down?
Mozilla Firefox Did Not Die, It Got Killed
To me it'll always look like Mozilla got killed by its sponsors, especially Google, which had a conflict of interest as a sponsor
Dalai Lama Succession as Evidence That Determined, Motivated People Can Reach Their Nineties
And we need to quit talking about their death all the time
Dan Neidle, Whom Brett Wilson LLP SLAPPed (on Behalf of Corrupt Rich Tax Evaders), Still Fighting the Good Fight
Neidle fights for the poor people
Wayland Should Start by Dumping Its Very Ugly Logo
Wayland wins the "ugliest logo" award every year
Stop Focusing on Hair Colours, Focus on Corporate Agenda
If someone commits a crime, it does not matter if his or her hair was mostly white or there was no hair or a wig or whatever
Links 07/07/2025: Science, Conflicts, and a Fictional K-pop Group
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2025: Being a Luddite and Announcement of Gotify
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2025: XBox Effectively 'Dead', DMCA Subpoena Versus Registrar
Links for the day
The Nasty Smear (and Stereotype) of "Neckbeard" or "Greybeard" is Ageism
This is the sort of stuff they might try to volley at critics of Wayland
Why Many of Us Use X Server and Will Continue to Use It For Many Years to Come
Don't make this about politics
Brett Wilson LLP Uses Threats to Demand Changes to Pages or Removal of Pages Without Even Revealing Which Staff Member Does That (Sometimes People From Another Firm!)
This has been in the public for years
Dan Neidle Said "It Really Then Became a Job of Tormenting" Lawyers Like Brett Wilson LLP (Who Threatened Him for Exposing Crimes, Just Like They Threatened My Wife a Few Months Later)
he and his wife decided to take on the evil people and their evil lawyers
Large Language Models (LLMs) Externalise Their Cost to the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
"The forty-sixth Free Software Bulletin is now available online!"
Reinforcing the Allegations Some More, Bryan Lunduke Digs His Own Grave
In his latest episodes he merely repeats his own lies, which I debunked using evidence right from his own mouth
Global Warming and Free Software as a Force of Mitigation
we'll need to think about Software Freedom, not just brands like "Linux"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 06, 2025
[Video] "Copyleft Isn't a Bug."
"Copyleft isn’t a bug. It’s a feature. GNU GPL forced the world to treat code like a public good."
Being in Social Control Media Means Exposing Oneself to Heckling
Richard Stallman does not (either himself or directly) post to any social control media
Links 06/07/2025: Airlines Perils, Scams, and Breaches
Links for the day
Two Risks to Companies: The Microsoft Culture and the Microsoft Tools
Novell was killed by a form of "social engineering" by Microsoft
It's Hard to Trust People Who Worked - Not Only Those Who Still Work - at Microsoft
Bryan Lunduke is just what people would call an "arsehole of a person"
For the Second Time, Bryan Lunduke From Microsoft is Siccing Racist Trolls and Vandals at Me
You're only reinforcing the point we made yesterday
Links 06/07/2025: End to End Encryption at Risk, Reuters Twitter ("X") Account Withheld in India
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/07/2025: Tinylog and Certification Rotation
Links for the day
Links 06/07/2025: Climate Change and "The Right to Criticise"
Links for the day
PCLinuxOS Sites Coming Back, Gradually
let's just be patient
Social Control Media, Even If Based on Free Software, Still Has Many Problems
a distraction from what actually mattered and still matters
IBM is Not Your Master
IBM makes friends with people who exclude the majority of the population: women
Help Fund the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
If you have some dollars to spare, go support the FSF
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 05, 2025
A Short History of Attacks on Techrights (and Boycott Novell Before That)
good opportunity to tell again the story of several (not all) attempts to silence us
The Mainstream Media Took 4 Days to Realise Microsoft Shut Down Its Operations in Pakistan and Fired Everybody
We estimate that Microsoft has had about 29,000 layoffs since January
Leadership in Free Software
Don't let IBM lead. It's a terrible flag bearer.
“Twibel” Actions Against Comedians (and Why It's a Truly Low Blow)
they try to make up in quantities for a lack of merit or quality
Linux Foundation Apparently Flirting With Slop (Marketing by LLM-Generated SPAM)
The Web is in a really bad state!
COVID-19 Sped Up Site Improvements in Techrights
A few months later we created our very own IRC network
Gemini Links 05/07/2025: Negative Questions and 'Touching Grass' (Going Outside)
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2025: Dalai Lama Succession as 90th Birthday Approaches, 40 deg C in China
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2025: Hungary and US Defecting to Russia, "Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/07/2025: 4th of July 2025 and "Zig Roadmap 2026"
Links for the day
How to Combat the Exploitation and Abuse by Microsoft GitHub
Not to mention corruption and crimes against women
Bryan Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People
"[Lunduke] is actually sending his audience to attack people."
Even The Right Wing is Rejecting Bryan Lunduke
no wonder he became so irrelevant and marginal
Microsoft's MSN Helps Microsoft Spread Lies About the Layoffs' Scale (Well Over 25,000 People Laid Off This Year)
There seem to be monopolies on lies and on truth
The Death of X Has Been Greatly Exaggerated (by Compromised Media)
X.Org Server is alive and well
Rewriting Things in Rust
How far would you go?
In 2025 Everything is "AI". Remember Blockchains?
Talk about what companies and things (services, products, software) actually do, not the labels they use
Julian Assange Has Been Free for a Year
Julian Assange and I disagreed on some things
Monopolies and Scalping
Monopolies gravitate towards price hikes
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 04, 2025
Microsoft's August Layoffs Wave: "August is Confirmed for Additional Performance Based Cuts"
"August is confirmed for additional performance based cuts from the recent connects along with additional organizational cuts."
What Microsoft Reputation Laundering (With a Weaponised Law Degree) Looks Like in a Foreign Continent
You would expect this in uncivilised and primitive countries
Slopwatch: LLMs 'Write' Fake or Distorted 'News' About "Linux"
LLM slop disguised as news